Long-Term Unemployment Getting Worse

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Suzy Khimm points us to a new Pew report outlining the continuing cost of long-term unemployment during the recession. Both unemployment and long-term unemployment get worse among the least educated, and long-term unemployment gets worse with age. “The data show that once they lose their jobs, older workers are the most likely to remain out of work for a year or longer. In the third quarter of 2011, more than 43 percent of unemployed workers older than 55 had been out of work for at least a year.”

In other words, although raw levels of unemployment are lower among older workers, if you do lose your job when you’re in your 40s or above, there’s a very good chance you’re going to stay unemployed for at least a year. That’s the price we’re paying for our political unwillingness to do anything serious to cut the recession short.

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